Chapter Twenty
"Your highness… you can't be serious!" Three nobles said almost simultaneously.
"I'm perfectly serious." Coran answered.
Even Devona found herself wondering if her friend had completely lost his mind, and had cleverly hidden it until now.
"But to reinstate the guilds… clearly you don't remember just the evils that were spawned…" One of them added as well as he could considering that it looked like his lower jaw had been dislocated.
Coran's left eyebrow twitched upward. "I'd wager I've forgotten more about the history of this kingdom, and indeed all of Tyria, than you will ever know, Lord Travis. Let me assure you I am more than knowledged as to the guild eras of this land… the evils you speak of were more the result of a weak and corrupt monarchy and a small number of guild leaders that took advantage of that fact than a flaw of the system as a whole."
"But…"
"The reason I wish to reopen Ascalon for the guilds is two-fold. First, I am growing concerned of Cantha, far to the south. They've been uninterested to use the power they have up to now, but I'd rather not count on that attitude continuing. Guilds have been accepting their lands and strengthening their influence for the last twenty years. Kryta and Ascalon are still in the early stages of recovering, and we might eventually make easy pickings if they wish to expand their empire. I have knowledge that could stem that tide if it were to ever roll in… but not the manpower. We simply must reinforce our numbers, especially as these lands become more tempting to those with power."
He waited to see if anyone had any protest to the obvious, then continued. "Secondly, the economy of Ascalon is ravaged. It's near impossible to stimulate the trade needed to revive this land when we have nothing of value to trade. Allowing the guilds to return will inject an instant boost of capital and activity."
Lord Darrin sighed in relief, "Thank you, your highness. At least I am not the only one that sees sense in this room."
"But how will we ensure the problems of the past will not happen again?" Duke Maran queried. Devona was amazed his nearly mousy voice reached her ears.
"Well, I could say to trust my judgment, but that's hardly a compelling argument, is it?" Coran said with a hint of self-depreciation, just enough to send a disarming chuckle through the nobles. "Fortunately, I have a plan as to that. In the old days, the previous line granted ranks of nobility to whomever they desired, usually in thanks for gifts, money, or whatever favors the guilds provided. While seamless, the opportunity for abuse was far too great. So, I propose something called bureaucracy."
Barradin blinked twice, "Bless you."
Coran laughed so loudly that it startled Devona. "I am sorry to laugh at you… it's just that was my exact response the first time I heard it." Coran apologized. "What bureaucracy entails are several levels that act on each other, countering or complimenting each other depending on how you see it. It can be cumbersome and time consuming, but it minimizes mistakes by spreading the responsibility among several people as opposed to only one."
He turned to Devona, and said, "May you hand me that parchment, quill, and inkwell next to you, dear?"
Devona shyly slid the articles over before hastily shoving her hand into her lap. He gratefully accepted the articles, but his first attempt at writing upon the parchment apparently did not meet his standards, as he frowned, sighed, then commented, "First order of business once I leave this meeting will be to teach some people how to make paper and ink pens. These barbaric implements simply will not do for the long term."
The nobles started looking at each other nervously, as if wondering just what Coran knew that they didn't. Devona smirked, as she had some idea that the gulf of knowledge was likely immensely vast. Soon, more people were becoming interested in just what the new king was scribbling, and those that could, started to lean forward in an attempt to glance at what was being written.
It took a couple minutes, but Coran finally handed the finished work to his right towards Lord Darrin. "Please take a look at it and pass it down the table. It might help explain what I'm about to say."
"In this case, bureaucracy will play out like this…" Coran said, "The first step will be similar to the first and only step of the past. I will appoint someone for a noble or position. When the conclave next meets, they will take a 'vote' on the nomination at hand. If a majority is reached, the decision is then passed on to the elders of the region in question. For example, if I am nominating another duke for the Kree region, and it passes the conclave, the elders of Kree would place their vote on it. If a majority is reached there, the lord or duke will then be allowed to take that post."
"That could take months!" A surprised exclamation from the back of the table erupted.
"Indeed. As I said, it is time consuming, but the chances that a corrupt guild leader, or indeed anyone, would be able to fool or bribe myself, and a majority of two separate groups is nil."
"What then happens if either we or the elders refuse the nomination?" Maran asked.
"As you'll see when the parchment gets to you, there are conditions to that as well." Coran answered. "If the Conclave rejects my nomination, the Elders as well as the nobles of the surrounding counties can petition myself to overturn the rejection… but only if the 'nay' vote in the conclave was less than sixty percent of the total, and only if the elders and neighboring nobles are in unanimous agreement. If the Elders reject a nomination that the conclave approves, it goes back to the conclave for one final vote… but if the approval isn't more than three-quarters in that second vote, the nomination dies."
Duke Barradin meanwhile had the look of a man who had just been casually introduced to one of the old gods. In other words, he was visibly boggling. Devona was fairly certain no parchment was going to clarify matters any time soon. "This is an awful lot to absorb, I fear…"
"I will have the royal scribes working on putting the nuances to parchment for you to analyze at your leisure, as well as other situations in which the bureaucracy will be put into play." Coran assured. "Another thing I'll need to establish is reproduction methods… accuracy will be vital in our documents due to the sheer number of stipulations and conditions that inevitably apply in this sort of decision-making." He sighed forlornly, "So much to do, and so little time to do it in… I fear I won't be getting much sleep the next few days."
He then snapped his fingers, and said, "Unless… Devona, if I excuse you from the remainder of this meeting, would you pass along word to the royal messengers to have the printers of Hylan report to Rin as soon as possible? They should be able to handle many of these minor technical issues, like reproducing documents and papermaking while I focus on bigger concerns."
Devona nodded, forcing herself not to appear as eager to get out of the room as she really was.
"Well then, why don't you get to it, and the rest of us can continue to bore ourselves until we've decided enough for the evening?"
As if Dwayna had decided to bless the following day, the skies above King's Watch were clear for the first time in months. There wasn't even any smoke from the north to be seen, as if even the Charr were content to step back and let the people of Ascalon enjoy the day.
Devona however, was of a mixed mind. On one hand, she was watching a friend since childhood be crowned King of Ascalon, a truly remarkable event. On the other, she was standing just behind him as the ceremony took place… the typical place for a monarch's betrothed. It was so disconcerting to be standing in front of what must have been thousands of people, even if their attention wasn't even remotely on her. It merely reinforced her opinion that she'd fall to pieces if put in a situation where she had to make decisions with such attention on her.
"Rise King Coran of Ascalon, and address your people." The High Priest declared, prompting the assembly to burst into cheers until Coran could gesture for them to quiet.
"I apologize, as I do not necessarily have my father's strength of voice to carry over such a din. I also apologize that I do not have my father's strength of arms to lead you into battle if such a regrettable time occurs. But what I do possess is the knowledge and expertise to do what my father could not. I know how to enrich the fields… I know how to purify the waters. I know how to turn this brown land green once again."
He was cut off by the ecstatic cheers once again, and it took nearly three minutes to calm the populous for him to continue. "But it will take time, and it will take work. The window if we hope to see some results by next spring is small, so we will also need to work quickly. To that end, each county will have several Officers of Restoration. They will provide you with instructions as to what each of you will have to do. I need you to have faith and perseverance. It will be difficult; to say anything less would be a lie. But I have faith in you. We all have survived the long odds to get to this point; I hold no doubts that we will continue to do so."
There was silence now, for at that moment, the first wisps of acrid black smoke began to float over the Great Northern Wall far in the distance… a not so subtle reminder of the threat beyond it.
Devona had rarely seen Coran angry, much less the loathing anger on his face as he stared purposefully to the north. "Of course, one cannot forget the all too real evil of the Charr, and I am certain my monk's upbringing does not reassure you in the face of this evil as it would if I were my father or my brother. But fear not greatly… for I also have knowledge that will lead to retribution far overdue."
He turned away from the smoke, and with a steely glare said, "I cannot promise that Ascalon will be all it once was. That may be impossible. But I will promise that if the Charr dare challenge this land again, they will flee in terror and defeat as if Balthazar himself had taken to their heels."
He bowed to signal his address had finished, and through the joyous eruption below the plateau, Devona had to close the distance to hear what Barradin and Coran had started to discuss.
"You speak well, but your actions lead me wonder if you understand what you say." The Duke said, appointed by Coran as the Grand Warmaster days prior as Coran finished declaring his court. "I understand you gave an order to begin tearing down the trebuchets that stood atop the Wall."
"That's right. I did." Coran answered.
"Then how do you intend…"
"The trebuchets were in the way, Barradin. I needed that space for something far more powerful."
Barradin tried to wrap his mind around the concept of something more powerful than the devastating siege weapons that had normally stood in defense of Ascalon. To be honest, Devona was having a hard time imagining it herself. But she also had no doubt that vast amounts of currently unspoken knowledge resided in the new King's head… and that he wouldn't have made such a statement unless he was absolutely positive he was speaking true.